Benvinguts, benvingudes!
Took longer than expected, but finally another list of tools and articles worth spending some time diving into it. Come inside and have a nice cuppa tea!
Articles
Open props
You probably heard about design tokens, haven’t you? Is kind of trendy. Nestled between design tokens and the old and rusty CSS frameworks lies this amazing tool. Essentially, Open Props incorporates a vast range of predefined primitive tokens for implementation as CSS custom properties. From z-index layers, to shadows, media queries, animations, etc. The list is quite large. Never used in a project so far, but I think is incredibly useful and inspiring.
Belka Design Agency Live Talks
I’m really curious about the challenges other companies face when it comes to web development. Even more so, I’d like to hear from colleagues working at those companies how do they handle those roadblocks? That’s why I love what Belka Digital Agency is doing.
They take a straightforward and candid approach that I really admire. Through live webinars, they give us a peek into their processes. Now, we might not see eye-to-eye on every topic, it is very exciting to understand how they overcome those challenges as a team. In addition, their focus on design and development collaboration is truly newsworthy.
Although most of their webinars are in Italian —which I happen to understand and speak decently— they also provide some content in English. Check them out: Belka Digital Agency Youtube Channel
Bouncy ball
I’ve been using the Web Animations API through Angular quite a bit now, and I feel very comfortable with it. So much that I decided to learn how to use it correctly without the Angular flavor to be able to use it in other projects. This little Bouncy Ball example is really great because it displays a simple animation in a vast variety of languages and formats.
Codewars
I know, this is old but gold, but I’ve rediscovered recently and I am enjoying it. Codewars is a web app where you can test your skills tackling challenges in numerous programming dialects. You can start with the fundamentals, but my favouorites are the Rank Up section in Javascript and Typescript. Katas are much more tricky and interesting. Add me as a friend and let’s play togheter!
De-Google yourself
Is your Google account full? Are you paying for the photo storage or are you juggling between local storage and google photos? Well, I’m happy to pay for my cloud storage but I don’t want to pay Google to keep me locked into their services. After testing a few tools I’d like to recommend Ente. They have a great Android app, an awesome customer service, a fantastic migration feature, and it just works perfect. In addition, is open source.
Read
I am currently reading one of the most interesting books I’ve read this year. Along the Trenches: A Journey Through Eastern Europe to Isfahan by Navid Kermani is a beautiful travel diary from Germany to Iran, where Navid discovers and tries to understand the borders that separate one country from another, why and how these invisible walls are created, and the reasons behing the conflicts. It will be of great interest to anyone concerned with current affairs and with the events that have shaped, and continue to shape, the world in which we live today.
Listen
Not that I am discovering America, but definitely worth mentioning once more. Every chapter in the BBC Documentary podcast is just great. Just open you podcast app, search for it and choose any chapter, even randomly. I am sure you’ll enjoy it.
Take Action
Tragically, millions of innocent persons in Gaza are suffering. This Genocide commited by Israel where no innocent is safe in an open air prison requires world attention and help. With press and aid agencies restricted from entering affected areas, UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for palestine refugees in the near east) stands alone in providing crucial support services to Palestinian refugees. Consider supporting UNRWA financially. Your assistance could significantly help countless innocents.
Have plans for summer? This commercial by VISIT OSLO is an awesome piece of creativity!
Enjoy, and see you soon!